For the readers, by the readers : Crowdsourcing books – an analysis of the power relations between professional producers of media and an active audience

Abstract: There is a call for more analysis and case knowledge of how the media use the participatory architecture of social media in media production. The research field of audience participation comes from the integration of concepts and theories about an active audience with production research, and social and cultural theory. This thesis analyses cultural participation from the perspective of professional media producers by analysing the production of the book Olympen (2014), where the audience participated in the production by the use of the web 2.0-practices of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing. This was done with special attention to power relations between the producers and the audience. An analysis of research interviews with key members of the editorial team show how the producers used social media strategies in the funding, marketing and in the production of the book. The analysis also indicates that the use of social media both enabled and hindered the audience in their participation. The participation of the audience improved the outcome of the project, but issues concerning quality stopped the book project from being even more participatory. However the analysis also shows that professional media producers and audience measure participation differently. This insight can be a source for further research.